AKRON - Crystal Clinic plastic surgeon Derek Cody, M.D., who specializes in aesthetic surgery of the face and body, knows the effect his work can have on improving a person's appearance. As a reconstructive microsurgeon, he also recognizes the impact reconstructive surgery has on improving the quality of life of those in need. It's one of the reasons he takes some of his personal vacation time each year to help those in other countries who need reconstructive surgery to correct birth defects, treat traumatic injuries and provide post-cancer restoration.

In February, he took his third mission trip to Chile with Sonrie Con Rotary (Smile With Rotary) Rotary International. Cody traveled to Iquique, Chile with Dr. James Lehman of Akron and five other physicians from Ohio, California and Texas. Upon arriving there, they helped Chilean doctors treat cleft lips, cleft palates and other conditions that require highly skilled care.

During the week that Cody spent there, they treated about 100 people. He estimates that about 300 total patients received care during the two-week period that the Rotary contingent was in Iquique.

"The Chilean people have such resilience," Cody observed. "People travel from all over the country to meet us there. They are very appreciative of what we do. Unfortunately, they don't have access to the level of care that we take for granted in the United States."

He added that the medical facilities are vastly different and lacking some of the modern supplies that U.S. hospitals have. It was not uncommon to see open windows and hallways filled with people waiting to be seen.

Despite the meager provisions, Cody and the Rotary surgical team performed procedures for cranio-facial anomalies such as cleft lip and cleft palate, ear reconstruction and breast cancer reconstruction. In an unexpected case, Cody and his fellow surgeons were able to salvage a man's limb.

According to Cody, a man had broken his leg. As part of this devastating injury, he was left without the protective layers of soft tissue that normally cover the bones. He had undergone multiple unsuccessful attempts at reconstruction. Ultimately, failure to restore the protective soft tissue over the bone would result in an amputation of the patient's leg. Fortunately, Cody was able to perform a free tissue transfer procedure - the first ever in Iquique - which transplanted tissue from the man's arm and microsurgically reconnected it to blood vessels in the leg to cover the exposed bones.

"This was completely unplanned," Cody explained. "On the fly, we had to gather instruments and put this together to make it work with what they had. The patient said it was a miracle. His bone had been exposed for more than six months."

Cody looks forward to these mission trips each year. He finds them to be rewarding on personal and professional levels. He's met people from all over the country and developed international friendships. In the process, he's treated hundreds of patients who otherwise wouldn't have had access to providers who give such specialized care.

"It's just the rewarding nature of traveling to different places and donating your services," Cody said. "I learn a lot from this experience. I get to see how other countries handle their health care. It's definitely gratifying enough to spend my vacation time on this."

His next mission trip will be to Haiti in July.